Where We Buy: Retail Real Estate with James Cook

Alim Uderbekov is CEO and Co-Founder of Surfaice, an AI operating system built for the full retail store lifecycle, from lease administration and CAM reconciliation to construction budgeting, punch walks, and facility management. Speaking live from the ICSC PropTech stage in Las Vegas, Uderbekov explains how pre-trained agents plug into a company's existing systems to eliminate repetitive work — by his count, roughly a million clicks to open a single store. He also discusses trust and adoption barriers in commercial real estate, his path from aerospace engineering to retail, and The Store Development AI Playbook: A Field Guide, co-authored with Schaefer Jones of the JD Sports Fashion store development team.
 
James Cook is the Head of Retail Research for JLL. 
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify 
Listen: WhereWeBuy.show 
Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com 
YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/
Read more retail research here:  http://www.us.jll.com/retail
Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.

Davon Barbour is President and CEO of the Downtown Austin Alliance, the organization representing over 1,200 property owners in one of the fastest-growing downtowns in America. Barbour discusses Austin's rise to the 12th largest city in the U.S., the $20 billion in public infrastructure projects reshaping downtown, and the new convention center that will be the first net zero carbon neutral facility of its kind in the world. He also covers efforts to attract experiential retail, support local businesses through construction disruption, and preserve the authentic culture of live music and local food that makes Austin unique.
James Cook is the Director of Retail Research in the Americas for JLL. 
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify 
Listen: WhereWeBuy.show 
Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com 
YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/
Read more retail research here:  http://www.us.jll.com/retail
Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.

Michael Rubenstein is CEO of Wally's, a rapidly growing travel center brand known as the "Home of the Great American Road Trip." Michael takes us on a tour of the company's third and largest location, a 53,000-square-foot facility in Whitestown, Indiana, and explains how Wally's is redefining the travel stop experience. He covers the company's origins, its retro Americana branding, an expansive food program featuring in-house chefs and made-from-scratch items, a massive retail section with original merchandise, and the real estate strategy behind site selection. Rubenstein also discusses private label products, EV charging, dwell time, and plans for a fourth location in Kansas City.
James Cook is the Director of Retail Research in the Americas for JLL. 
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify 
Listen: WhereWeBuy.show 
Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com 
YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/
Read more retail research here:  http://www.us.jll.com/retail
Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.

Raj Singh is Managing Partner at JLL Spark Global Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of JLL that has invested more than $445 million in early-stage tech startups focused on the built world. Raj explains how they evaluate and support PropTech investments, from 3D space visualization tools to AI-powered leasing assistants. He also discusses the role of proprietary data in AI, the rise of agentic commerce, and how retail real estate professionals should be thinking about technology adoption today. 
James Cook is the Director of Retail Research in the Americas for JLL. 
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify 
Listen: WhereWeBuy.show 
Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com 
YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/
Read more retail research here:  http://www.us.jll.com/retail
Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.

Jennifer Hanlon is Vice President of Real Estate and Development at VEG ER for Pets, an emergency and urgent care hospital network for animals with 131 locations across 34 states and Canada. She discusses the company's rapid growth, opening roughly 30 locations per year, and its unique open-concept ER model that allows pet owners to stay with their animals throughout treatment. She also talks about what makes an ideal site, how the real estate team approaches visibility and access, and what it's been like scaling the business from the ground up over eight years.
Keish Virtue is the Retail Research Manager in the Americas for JLL. 
James Cook is the Director of Retail Research in the Americas for JLL. 
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify 
Listen: WhereWeBuy.show 
Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com 
YouTube: http://everythingweknow.show/
Read more retail research here:  http://www.us.jll.com/retail
Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.